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| I love peonies, I'm sure many of you do too but they only bloom for 2 weeks if you're lucky. This year we had a lot of rain after they bloomed so they only looked really good for about one week. Natch they take up the space of a rose which is why I'm wondering whether you grow them.
Second is we inherited some of the contents of this bed and the peonies are at the front. The thing I don't like about the placement is that after they bloom you need to leave the foliage for the whole season. So that leaves a sea of just green leaves in the front of the bed. They need to be divided anyway so I was searching for a different spot. Please tell me what you think. In the middle is a butterfly bush I keep very short and Chicago Peace and Peace in the back. Front:
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Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by aurora1701e z7 Southern NJ (My Page) on Sat, May 23, 09 at 9:56
| I grow peonies but they are in a bed in BACK of the roses. I agree about the foliage, but the beauty and smell of the flower is worth it to me -- even if it is only for a couple of weeks out of the year. I better combination there isn't when they're both in bloom (IMHO). I suppose you could always move them to free up a spot for more roses. Here is Cherry Parfait and About Face along with Festiva Maxima, Karl Rosenfeld and Sarah Bernhardt: Jeff |
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- Posted by prairie-rose 5 NE (My Page) on Sat, May 23, 09 at 11:09
| I have a hostile attitude toward the peonies at my house. The ones bordering my driveway get no care, no weeding, no feeding, and sometimes I get so aggravated with the ratty field-bindweed-choked, botrytis-ridden foliage I mow them down in July (they come back just fine). I can't get rid of them, because my neighbors will think I'm an awful person for removing them--the peonies are many decades old, and if there's a plant my town loves, it's PEONIES. Everybody has them. Even with a glorious two weeks out of the year (when the rain doesn't flatten them)--not worth the real estate they sit on. But they're practically historic at my old house, so I would feel bad for yanking them. I did get rid of some on the north side of my house to make a new rose/perennial bed, and they are WEEDS in terms of not being able to take a hint--they keep sending up shoots, there's huge fleshy chunks of roots everywhere I try to dig...ugh. |
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- Posted by maureeninmd z6 MD (My Page) on Sat, May 23, 09 at 11:11
| Jeff - your garden looks great! I think it works because of all the different colors. Usually I don't like peonies with roses, often they seem to be competing with each other?? I grow mostly antique roses. My peonies just flop on the ground and the leaves look awful by the end of June. Sometimes I just cut most of the blossoms and bring indoors. I think they look best all by themselves so I may replace the ones growing in mixed beds with ... ROSES. |
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| I am in different camp. I love peonies a lot, not the Jap. type, but the old ones with many petals and great fragrance. Have more then 20 different varieties and keep adding more. But, I never was against once bloomers anyway, roses, lilacs, lillies, irises, peonies, they all part of my garden. I mix them with roses in the same beds and it looks fine for my eyes. Olga |
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- Posted by karl_bapst_rosenut 5a, NW Indiana (rosenut@rosenut.com) on Sat, May 23, 09 at 14:40
| My peoniesbloom just before the roses so the two plants work well together. I'm with Olga aboput them. Mine were taken from my grandfather's home and are over 60 years old. The fragrance is worth the two week only bloom time and the foliage the rest of the season is a welcome addition to the woodland garden setting on the South side of my house. My property is large enough to enjoy the roses on the 80% that gets full sun and the Peonies, hostas, azaleas, rhododendrons, lilacs. forthysia, oak trees, ferns, tulips, daffodils, hydrangeas, honeysuckle and other plants thrive on the other 20%. That area is a little crowded but the effect works well with the small pond. |
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| I've been told that in our warmer climate some thought should be given to the Peony varieties that will do well here. After doing a bit of research I selected one named Kansas as it had a sterling reputation. I bought one locally already in a pot and planted it. For three years it sat there not blooming. However right after I planted it a rose friend told me that peonies in our climate have ratty looking foliage by Summer and sure enough she was right. So last year after 3 years of no blooms just ratty looking foliage I gave it to my neighbor who wanted to give it a try. You can almost guess what happened. It bloomed this year. A gorgeous crimson colored full petaled bloom that stood upright with no drooping stems. Kansas is a real beauty. Because of where she has it planted, annuals and whatnot will cover the funky foliage as it deteriorates over the summer. My Peony experiment turned into a win win situation for both of us. |
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- Posted by artemis_mo z5b MO (My Page) on Sat, May 23, 09 at 15:45
| I have peonies in several areas of my yard. A few are planted in the midst of some roses. I have early and late blooming varieties so I have them blooming until mid-June. A couple days ago I planted Dr. Alexander Fleming amongst Moondance, Tamora, Rose de Rescht and Julia Child. It is sitting next to a miniature lilac bush. The foliage adds color and texture. A few of mine tend to flop so in the early spring I put them in small peony hoops. I spray them along with my roses so I don't have a problem with botrytis. Right now I have a beautiful arrangement of peonies and roses on my kitchen table. The house smells wonderful. Love my peonies. They add a lot to my garden. |
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| I'm excited that our 4 peonies are just about to burst open this week to greet friends from Texas whom we haven't seen in 22 years. When I told Walter he'd probably see our peonies but probably not roses blooming, he asked...."What's a peony?" I just wish they lasted longer than 2 weeks! We put wire cages around them (like artemis' peony hoops) to keep them upright....three go around the curve of our front porch...fuchsia, white, light pink doubles (can't remember names)...the other is on the side. But I so much wish our roses (all budded up) would BLOOM while they were here to see them! :0) Phyl |
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- Posted by pauline-vi-8 (My Page) on Sun, May 24, 09 at 0:11
| I keep adding more and more peonys to our front garden where deer roam!!! Here the foliage is good. I now will check the bloom life. I had no idea that they only lasted two weeks. All I know for us, is that they start before the roses, then the roses.(in our back only where the deer do not live) It is quite difficult to come up with beautiful flowers that the deer do not eat. Peonys work for sure! Pauline |
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| I do love them, I suppose because of big blowsy OGR look to the flowers. I also hate how they flop, I do have big peony support rings but they still flop after if it rains when they're in bloom ( which it always does). I also have a few tree peonies, talk about excitement when those bloom. The flowers are huge and they bloom a few weeks earlier than reg. peonies. Last year I invested in some peony umbrellas from Cricket Hill Farm. They really do help protect the blooms, and also protect the tree peony blooms from fading in the sun. Plus they look kind of cute in the garden. |
Here is a link that might be useful: boy did I feel like a spoiled gardener when I ordered 5 of theses
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- Posted by jumbojimmy Australa (My Page) on Tue, Jul 22, 14 at 6:52
| I'm bumping this thread up because I just discover my new interest - peonies! I love their huge cabbage like blooms. I just purchased a Sarah Bernhardt - I hope it's a nice one. I wonder why only few peonies are available today not as vast as compared to roses. I mean, I do love roses, when it comes to flower form, I think the peonies look much beautiful than roses. |
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| jumbo--you have a terrific peony there! Here's another that I think is gorgeous. It's probably Cora Stubbs, but I do not know for sure. (That's Our Lady of Guadalupe to its right.)
I also have 4 others (Maximus Festiva--another classic) forming the back row of a larger bed, with roses, garden phlox, iris, and assorted other flowers in front of them. Viewers hardly even notice them after they are done blooming--the rest of the scene takes up most of their attention. I wouldn't be without my 9 peonies, and I'd plant more if I had more room, but my roses take precedence--they are my first loves, even though the peonies do manage to put up quite a competitive show when they do bloom. Kate |
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| I grow a Sarah Bernhardt peony in the shade of 2 climbing roses where no rose would ever grow. It's a magnificent plant. I usually surround the stalks of the peony with gardening twine at the beginning of the season so that the leaves grow upright & don't flop on the ground. This spring I was too lazy & I had beautiful blooms lying face down. They still made beautiful cut flowers. |
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- Posted by jumbojimmy (My Page) on Wed, Jul 23, 14 at 6:45
| Cora Stubbs looks wonderful! Unfortunately, in Australia we don't have that many varieties of peonies to choose from. Just did some research and heard people are saying Sarah Bernhardt looks mundane, Now, I'm kind of worried. The bloom sort of reminds me of David Austin rose Egylantne - which is rather ordinary. I bought a barerooted one. How can I make it bloom in Spring? I really want to see what the bloom look like. |
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| Peonies can be rather slow to start blooming. Next spring, feed it and keep it well-watered (but not standing in water!) and it PERHAPS will give you a bloom or two. My experience with peonies, however, is that you have to wait several years before you will see a decent bloom, and if you planted them too deep (the "eyes" should be 1/2 in. to 1 inch below the surface--no deeper), you may never get any bloom. And do not move your peonies--they highly resent being moved. Happily planted, a peony will give you 40 years or more of beautiful blooms. They need sun also. I think Sarah Bernhardt is a lovely peony--but not a loud showy one. I reserve that category for my Scarlet O'Hara peony--so brilliant red that everyone passing by stops to comment on it. Kate |
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